JimBob
01-10-2008, 10:14 AM
Pokes' plight is too familiar
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
1/10/2008
Last Modified: 1/10/2008 2:31 AM
At mid-year, OSU is already in a crunch, thanks to its past woes.
STILLWATER -- The plan, after Oklahoma State lost seven seniors in 2005, was to repopulate the basketball program with a next generation of Cowboys. The new kids would take some lumps, but they would be groomed to add more numerals on banners that hang in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The lumps are still coming. One reason why is because the plan never included blowing up the roster and starting over again.
OSU signed 11 players in two recruiting classes following the 2004-05 season. The Cowboys got an average of 1.09 years of service from those recruits the next two seasons. Eight recruits were high school signees. Only three of them, Terrel Harris, Byron Eaton and Obi Muonelo, are still on campus.
NCAA Tournament appearances once were considered a birthright in Stillwater. Now the reality is this: The Cowboys, 9-5 in nonconference games, must do something astonishing in league play in order to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season.
"I know exactly what the expectations are here," coach Sean Sutton said. "I helped create them as a player and as an assistant coach. We had great success here and I am extremely proud of being a part of all this, but we have elevated our program to a standard where people expect to see us in the top 20 and people expect to see us in the NCAA Tournament and that's the way it should be."
If Sutton could have a do-over this season, he would arrange an easier nonconference slate. OSU faced five BCS league opponents (Marquette, LSU, Illinois, Washington, Pitt) and two mid-majors (Oral Roberts, North Texas) who were NCAA qualifiers last year. Six of those games were away from home.
In most seasons, that might not be too daunting. This isn't most seasons. OSU went 2-5 (with four double-digit defeats) in those seven games and at times could be accused of failing to compete.
Sutton said most game contracts were finalized before he knew Kenny Cooper and JamesOn Curry were leaving. The defections left OSU with four returning scholarship lettermen and seven newcomers. If Sutton had known Cooper and Curry were departing, he would have scheduled more home games.
"And even if you didn't have a great RPI or whatever going into the Big 12, you still win games and build confidence," Sutton said.
"Looking back, it's probably a mistake. But that's the tricky thing about scheduling sometimes. The Maui event was scheduled three years ago and, at that time, I thought that not only those two guys would be here, but a guy like Gary Flowers might still be here. But there is no question our schedule was too tough for such a young team."
OSU wouldn't be a young team if the post-2005 restocking plan had been successful. Sutton regrets that "things didn't work out" with talented replacements who might have eased the transition.
Flowers never scored a basket. He ran afoul of the law and was dismissed before his first game. Keith Brumbaugh never played a minute. He left OSU after his ACT score was called into question. Brumbaugh is averaging 40 points and 12.25 rebounds at Hillsborough Community College in Florida. Gerald Green, ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's top high school recruit, signed with the Cowboys and chose instead to become a first-round NBA draft pick.
Sutton was asked if he wonders what might have happened if Green had come to OSU for at least one year.
"I think it would have made a huge difference," Sutton said. "I don't think that team would have missed the tournament in 2006. One of the things is none of the guys have been in the NCAA Tournament. They see the pictures and you show them films. But until they really experience it, as much as you talk about the importance of it and the tradition of our program, they don't really know what they are missing because they have never been a part of it. That's a little bit of what we are going through right now is we have only got one guy (Marcus Dove) on our team that has been a part of the NCAA Tournament. It has been a little frustrating, but we've got to get it back."
OSU was on the verge of getting "it" back last season. One year ago at this time, the Cowboys were 15-1 with wins over Pitt and Syracuse. They had bagged a recruiting prize in McDonald's All-American James Anderson.
Everything was going OSU's way, Gallagher-Iba Arena was rocking and no one was scrawling anything nasty about Sutton on Internet message boards.
But OSU hasn't caught many breaks since, beginning with an actual break. The Cowboys were 11-0 when Muonelo suffered a broken bone in his foot last season. The injury left the Pokes with seven healthy scholarship players. They finished 22-13 and lost a first-round NIT home game.
"Not to make an excuse, but if he doesn't get hurt, I really think that team goes on and wins 25 games and makes the NCAA Tournament and has a chance to do some things in the tournament," Sutton said. "When he went down, we were able to hold it together for a period of time and guys just got wore down and played too many minutes and we didn't have any depth. He was a playmaker. He was playing so well and he's just now, I think, in the last couple of games starting to get his game back."
Sutton said he got "soft" last season and wasn't as tough on players as he should have been because he wanted to keep their legs fresh. Also, players took liberties and bent rules (like curfew) because the depth situation prevented coaches from suspending or dismissing any more players.
Losing some players who could've been Cowboys -- or were short-time Cowboys -- hurt because it sabotaged the goal of keeping a group of players together and building toward something, according to Sutton.
"It seems like we just haven't had the consistency in terms of this group and watching them kind of mature over a two- or three- or four-year period," he said. "That's what happens when you start losing players. We've been a little bit unlucky in that regard."
Sutton believes OSU could be a different team this season if Curry and Cooper had elected to stay. Cooper was the the Cowboys' only experienced post player. Three freshmen are sharing time at his old position.
"We just have to keep fighting," Sutton said. "We have been in this situation before, after the Final Four in 1995 (when OSU missed the NCAA Tournament two consecutive years). You just have to fight through it and we finally broke through again in 1998 and were able to keep that group of players together and (advanced to the Elite Eight in 2000). What's happened has happened. We can't sit around and feel sorry for ourselves or anything like that. We just have to keep working and keep believing that what you are doing is right and as long as you stay the course and do what you believe in, then things will get better."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIDSEASON REPORT
Reason to hope: OSU begins Big 12 play with a somewhat favorable schedule. If the Cowboys can win a league opener at home against Texas Tech and steal a win or two on the road at Baylor or Iowa State, players may get a jolt of confidence.
Reason to mope: OSU hasn’t won a road game since beating Kansas State on Feb. 4, 2006. Without a go-to post scorer, the Cowboys may have to live and die by the jump shot. That’s not the best way to do business, especially on the road. The Cowboys still must prove they are capable of competing once they fall behind.
RPI ranking: No. 135
Best wins: OSU beat Washington by 25 points at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Huskies, following a one-point loss to Pitt, then went on a five-game winning streak. That, and a win over struggling LSU, are the Cowboys’ lone victories against teams from alleged power conferences.
Worst loss: OSU had everything to lose and notmuch to gain in losses to North Texas and Oral Roberts. Sure, both opponents reached the NCAA Tournament last season and both have top 100 RPIs now, but Big 12 schools are supposed to beat mid-majors.
Path to postseason: Playing .500 ball in the Big 12 won’t secure anNCAATournament invitation because the Cowboys didn’t do enough good things against nonleague competition. Itmay take 10 ormore wins in league play just to be on the NCAA bubble. The Cowboys were 6-10 in league play each of the last two seasons.
Schedule
Jan. 12:............... Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m.
Jan. 15:....................... at Baylor, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19:..........at Iowa State, 12:45 p.m.
Jan. 21:............................Texas, 8 p.m.
Jan. 26:...................Texas A&M, 1 p.m.
Jan. 28:................. at Oklahoma, 8 p.m.
Feb. 2:..................at Texas Tech, 1 p.m.
Feb. 6:.........................Colorado, 7 p.m.
Feb. 9:............... at Kansas State, 5 p.m.
Feb. 13:...........................Baylor, 7 p.m.
Feb. 16:.......... at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 23:......................... Kansas, 3 p.m.
Feb. 26:................... at Missouri, 8 p.m.
March 1:..............Nebraska, 12:45 p.m.
March 5:....................Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
March 9:........................at Texas 3 p.m.
March 13-16: Big 12 Tournament
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
1/10/2008
Last Modified: 1/10/2008 2:31 AM
At mid-year, OSU is already in a crunch, thanks to its past woes.
STILLWATER -- The plan, after Oklahoma State lost seven seniors in 2005, was to repopulate the basketball program with a next generation of Cowboys. The new kids would take some lumps, but they would be groomed to add more numerals on banners that hang in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The lumps are still coming. One reason why is because the plan never included blowing up the roster and starting over again.
OSU signed 11 players in two recruiting classes following the 2004-05 season. The Cowboys got an average of 1.09 years of service from those recruits the next two seasons. Eight recruits were high school signees. Only three of them, Terrel Harris, Byron Eaton and Obi Muonelo, are still on campus.
NCAA Tournament appearances once were considered a birthright in Stillwater. Now the reality is this: The Cowboys, 9-5 in nonconference games, must do something astonishing in league play in order to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season.
"I know exactly what the expectations are here," coach Sean Sutton said. "I helped create them as a player and as an assistant coach. We had great success here and I am extremely proud of being a part of all this, but we have elevated our program to a standard where people expect to see us in the top 20 and people expect to see us in the NCAA Tournament and that's the way it should be."
If Sutton could have a do-over this season, he would arrange an easier nonconference slate. OSU faced five BCS league opponents (Marquette, LSU, Illinois, Washington, Pitt) and two mid-majors (Oral Roberts, North Texas) who were NCAA qualifiers last year. Six of those games were away from home.
In most seasons, that might not be too daunting. This isn't most seasons. OSU went 2-5 (with four double-digit defeats) in those seven games and at times could be accused of failing to compete.
Sutton said most game contracts were finalized before he knew Kenny Cooper and JamesOn Curry were leaving. The defections left OSU with four returning scholarship lettermen and seven newcomers. If Sutton had known Cooper and Curry were departing, he would have scheduled more home games.
"And even if you didn't have a great RPI or whatever going into the Big 12, you still win games and build confidence," Sutton said.
"Looking back, it's probably a mistake. But that's the tricky thing about scheduling sometimes. The Maui event was scheduled three years ago and, at that time, I thought that not only those two guys would be here, but a guy like Gary Flowers might still be here. But there is no question our schedule was too tough for such a young team."
OSU wouldn't be a young team if the post-2005 restocking plan had been successful. Sutton regrets that "things didn't work out" with talented replacements who might have eased the transition.
Flowers never scored a basket. He ran afoul of the law and was dismissed before his first game. Keith Brumbaugh never played a minute. He left OSU after his ACT score was called into question. Brumbaugh is averaging 40 points and 12.25 rebounds at Hillsborough Community College in Florida. Gerald Green, ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's top high school recruit, signed with the Cowboys and chose instead to become a first-round NBA draft pick.
Sutton was asked if he wonders what might have happened if Green had come to OSU for at least one year.
"I think it would have made a huge difference," Sutton said. "I don't think that team would have missed the tournament in 2006. One of the things is none of the guys have been in the NCAA Tournament. They see the pictures and you show them films. But until they really experience it, as much as you talk about the importance of it and the tradition of our program, they don't really know what they are missing because they have never been a part of it. That's a little bit of what we are going through right now is we have only got one guy (Marcus Dove) on our team that has been a part of the NCAA Tournament. It has been a little frustrating, but we've got to get it back."
OSU was on the verge of getting "it" back last season. One year ago at this time, the Cowboys were 15-1 with wins over Pitt and Syracuse. They had bagged a recruiting prize in McDonald's All-American James Anderson.
Everything was going OSU's way, Gallagher-Iba Arena was rocking and no one was scrawling anything nasty about Sutton on Internet message boards.
But OSU hasn't caught many breaks since, beginning with an actual break. The Cowboys were 11-0 when Muonelo suffered a broken bone in his foot last season. The injury left the Pokes with seven healthy scholarship players. They finished 22-13 and lost a first-round NIT home game.
"Not to make an excuse, but if he doesn't get hurt, I really think that team goes on and wins 25 games and makes the NCAA Tournament and has a chance to do some things in the tournament," Sutton said. "When he went down, we were able to hold it together for a period of time and guys just got wore down and played too many minutes and we didn't have any depth. He was a playmaker. He was playing so well and he's just now, I think, in the last couple of games starting to get his game back."
Sutton said he got "soft" last season and wasn't as tough on players as he should have been because he wanted to keep their legs fresh. Also, players took liberties and bent rules (like curfew) because the depth situation prevented coaches from suspending or dismissing any more players.
Losing some players who could've been Cowboys -- or were short-time Cowboys -- hurt because it sabotaged the goal of keeping a group of players together and building toward something, according to Sutton.
"It seems like we just haven't had the consistency in terms of this group and watching them kind of mature over a two- or three- or four-year period," he said. "That's what happens when you start losing players. We've been a little bit unlucky in that regard."
Sutton believes OSU could be a different team this season if Curry and Cooper had elected to stay. Cooper was the the Cowboys' only experienced post player. Three freshmen are sharing time at his old position.
"We just have to keep fighting," Sutton said. "We have been in this situation before, after the Final Four in 1995 (when OSU missed the NCAA Tournament two consecutive years). You just have to fight through it and we finally broke through again in 1998 and were able to keep that group of players together and (advanced to the Elite Eight in 2000). What's happened has happened. We can't sit around and feel sorry for ourselves or anything like that. We just have to keep working and keep believing that what you are doing is right and as long as you stay the course and do what you believe in, then things will get better."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIDSEASON REPORT
Reason to hope: OSU begins Big 12 play with a somewhat favorable schedule. If the Cowboys can win a league opener at home against Texas Tech and steal a win or two on the road at Baylor or Iowa State, players may get a jolt of confidence.
Reason to mope: OSU hasn’t won a road game since beating Kansas State on Feb. 4, 2006. Without a go-to post scorer, the Cowboys may have to live and die by the jump shot. That’s not the best way to do business, especially on the road. The Cowboys still must prove they are capable of competing once they fall behind.
RPI ranking: No. 135
Best wins: OSU beat Washington by 25 points at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Huskies, following a one-point loss to Pitt, then went on a five-game winning streak. That, and a win over struggling LSU, are the Cowboys’ lone victories against teams from alleged power conferences.
Worst loss: OSU had everything to lose and notmuch to gain in losses to North Texas and Oral Roberts. Sure, both opponents reached the NCAA Tournament last season and both have top 100 RPIs now, but Big 12 schools are supposed to beat mid-majors.
Path to postseason: Playing .500 ball in the Big 12 won’t secure anNCAATournament invitation because the Cowboys didn’t do enough good things against nonleague competition. Itmay take 10 ormore wins in league play just to be on the NCAA bubble. The Cowboys were 6-10 in league play each of the last two seasons.
Schedule
Jan. 12:............... Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m.
Jan. 15:....................... at Baylor, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19:..........at Iowa State, 12:45 p.m.
Jan. 21:............................Texas, 8 p.m.
Jan. 26:...................Texas A&M, 1 p.m.
Jan. 28:................. at Oklahoma, 8 p.m.
Feb. 2:..................at Texas Tech, 1 p.m.
Feb. 6:.........................Colorado, 7 p.m.
Feb. 9:............... at Kansas State, 5 p.m.
Feb. 13:...........................Baylor, 7 p.m.
Feb. 16:.......... at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 23:......................... Kansas, 3 p.m.
Feb. 26:................... at Missouri, 8 p.m.
March 1:..............Nebraska, 12:45 p.m.
March 5:....................Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
March 9:........................at Texas 3 p.m.
March 13-16: Big 12 Tournament